What happened next is unclear. The facts are that the carrier and her two escorts sailed into a trap and were sunk by German battlecruisers Schamhorst and Gneisenau, while, miles away, HMS Devonshire steamed on to complete its mission successfully.

A band of enthusiastic conspiracy theorists believe, that before it sank, the Glorious sent a desperate signal for help to the Devonshire.

They claim that, to save the skin of the King of Norway, the captain ignored the SOS call and carried on sailing for Britain, a point refuted strongly by his daughter and the MoD.

No deck logs or reports of proceedings survived the HMS Glorious and the gaps in information have been seized upon by proponents of the conspiracy theory.

Their claims were taken up by a Channel 4 documentary in the Secret History series and the issue was even discussed in parliament as late as 1999.

Questions were asked about the carrier’s reconnaissance aircraft, about messages from Bletchley Park and about the workings of the radio.

Capt Christopher Page, the head of the Naval Historical Branch of the Ministry of Defence, is clear that, while it is a tragedy, there was no conspiracy and no cover-up.

“I don’t believe that to be true,” he said. “Even if the Devonshire had tried to help, it wouldn’t have lasted five minutes against two German battleships.

“It’s a complete red herring.”

Mr Monteith’s wife has since died but he still takes an interest in the debate over the Glorious and recently viewed the MoD files on the incident, which, he said, added no light to the tragedy.

“Some people say to me ‘what your wife heard was pub talk’,” he said. “Only 35 people survived and spent two days and three nights in the water. Rumours got around that the ship was lost by a deliberate act.

“I take the view that it is a grand military cock-up. That is so I can go to my grave at peace. The whole Norway campaign was a grand, military cock-up.

“It is one of the most mysterious naval events of World War Two. I’m convinced it will never be solved now.”

A memorial service to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the sinking of the three ships will take place on Sunday June 11 at St Nicholas Church, HMS Drake, Devonport.